Pain today or pain tomorrow. That should be the mantra for anyone trying to achieve or create something new and different in their life. Mark it #1 for sales professionals trying to achieve at a high level. 

High performance demands you pick your pain. Most sales professionals avoid the daily discomfort of prospecting, asking tough questions, and taking risks—only to experience crushing long-term regret when they miss their numbers.

In this episode, Dan explores why avoiding short-term discomfort creates exponential long-term pain, how to redefine relationship selling beyond the "friendly zone," and the critical difference between pressuring prospects with competency versus helping them gain perspective through meaningful questions.

If this show has challenged your thinking or shifted your approach to sales conversations, we'd be honored to have your support: Breaking Sales is officially in the running for the 2025 People's Choice Podcast Awards. Just visit www.podcastawards.com between now and July 31 and nominate Breaking Sales in the Business category and Adam Curry’s People’s Choice category!

What if the biggest factor in whether someone makes a change isn't their current pain? 

Most sales professionals are obsessed with the present. They dig into problems, poke at pain points, and highlight what's broken today. But Dan and Pam reveal what they're missing: human beings don't change because of where they are. They change because of where they're going.

This episode explores future narrative—the art of helping prospects think beyond today's chaos and into tomorrow's clarity. You’ll hear a real client story about navigating internal politics, the psychology of regret minimization, and why sometimes you need to take prospects backwards to move them forward.

If you find value in today's episode, we would love your help.

Breaking Sales is officially in the running for the 2025 People's Choice Podcast Awards. If this show has challenged your thinking or shifted your approach to sales conversations, we'd be honored to have your support.

Just visit www.podcastawards.com between July 1–31 and nominate Breaking Sales in the Business category. Thank you in advance for your support! 

There’s a devastating invisible force awaiting you in every prospect and client conversation you have, and you hold the key that either lets it out or keeps it at bay. The good and bad news - it’s all controlled by you. 

In this episode, Dan and Kristie explore how anxiety shows up in sales conversations and why it's such a performance killer. Through real client stories, they reveal how trying to control uncontrollable outcomes sabotages our best skills—and what to do about it. 

Every closing technique you've been taught is training your prospects to resist you.

While you're focused on "Always Be Closing," your prospects are running in the opposite direction, “Avoid Being Closed.” The harder you push, the further they pull away. It's a losing game.

In Part I, we revealed why traditional closing tactics backfire and the three stages prospects go through when debating change. Now, in Part II, we're sharing the results of interviews with almost 100 top sales performers to reveal the four closing skills that your prospects will actually value. 

This isn't about manipulation or pressure. It's about having the patience to use common sense in your conversations. 

Traditional closing tactics focus on winning the deal—but that’s not the process your prospects and clients experience. They experience a process that requires them to debate change. If you want to get better at closing, then you’ll need to master the process that your prospects go through. The ABC, or "always be closing" method, is great for the movies, but detrimental to your real world conversations. 

In Part 1 of this two-part series on mastering the art of closing without closing, Dan and Pam challenge everything you thought you knew about closing sales—namely, that you get what you put in. They break down the three phases of decision-making prospects go through, reveal why your urgency to close actually delays deals, and explain why being trusted matters infinitely more than being liked. You'll discover why positive tension is essential for change, and how to create it without being self-serving.

In this revealing second part of our conversation with Lappin180 and top commercial real estate advisor Emily Smith, we dive deep on one of the most damaging barriers to successful selling: - anxiety, and how detachment is a practical and proven way to reduce the thoughts that hold you back. 

Emily shares the remarkable transformation that occurred when she stopped trying to control things that she couldn’t, and started creating space for her clients to reach their own conclusions. 

Whether you're struggling with work anxiety, feeling frustrated by stalled deals, or trying to build more authentic professional relationships, Emily's practical wisdom might help you find more fulfillment and success in your sales journey. 

After 12 successful years in commercial real estate, Emily Smith thought she had the perfect formula: be the most prepared, most knowledgeable person in every room. Then she started working w/ Lappin180.

In this candid conversation, Emily reveals how she completely transformed her approach by letting go of the "expert" persona that had defined her career. She shares the humbling process of recognizing that her success had come despite her attachment and scarcity mindset, not because of it.

Whether you're in sales, leadership, or any field where relationships matter, Emily's journey offers a refreshing alternative to traditional performance advice and a roadmap to more meaningful client engagements.

Do you view your calendar as a constraint or an asset?

In this episode, Dan and Pam discuss why your relationship with time is the foundation of high performance. They explore the zero-sum approach to time management, revealing why traditional time blocking doesn't work for most sales professionals and how to build the discipline to stop re-prioritizing in the moment. Learn practical strategies to stop wasting the ample personal time you have available each day and discover why the average employee is only productive for less than 3 hours in an 8-hour day. If you're ready to stop being average and start making real progress toward your goals, this conversation will transform how you think about and use your most valuable resource: time.

When was the last time you sat comfortably in silence during a sales conversation? 

In this episode, Dan Lappin and Pam Evanson explore the transformative power of giving prospects space to think. You’ll learn: 

• Why jumping in to fill every pause can cost you valuable insights

•  Practical techniques for creating space in your conversation, and 

• How to practice the art of detachment from labeling interactions as "good" or "bad." 

This episode will transform how you approach questioning in sales conversations and help you create the ideal conditions for prospects to share what's truly on their minds.

What hidden patterns from your past might be limiting your sales performance?

In this candid episode, Dan and Kristie share personal stories about how childhood experiences shaped their approach to business conversations. Dan reveals his journey from seeking validation to finding freedom in authentic interactions, while Kristie discusses reframing her view of tension from something negative to a positive force in sales dialogues. Discover how acknowledging and letting go of these inherited patterns can dramatically improve your effectiveness in challenging conversations. Plus, learn why creating positive tension is one of the most valuable services you can provide to prospects and clients.